Profectus
by Thalius
Summary: Buck and Veronica find a way to work around Buck's newfound Spartan strength. Rated M.


**AN: This is loosely connected to my other fic, A Sea of Gold, but I decided to post this separately since it's waaay more explicit. Enjoy!**

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"This was supposed to be... a vacation… for _both_ us," Veronica said in between breaths, looking down at Buck. He was breathing heavily beside her—a Spartan out of breath was a rare thing, and she was pleased to be an anomaly that caused it—with his face pressed into her collarbone. Veronica would be content to lie in a boneless puddle and sleep the rest of the day away, but Buck was still very much in need of attention. His concern about hurting her was still a hurdle he hadn't gotten over, but she'd be lying if she wasn't at least a little bit pleased with his idea of progress.

She curled a hand up to thread her fingers through his hair, and he looked up at her with a tight grin. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked a bit glassy. "Mmm," he hummed. "Maybe I'll just…." His voice trailed off and pressed a kiss to her breast, just above the nipple. Then he slipped a hand down to himself, and moaned into her. "I'll just stay here for now…."

"Buck—" she sat up on an elbow and tugged on his shoulder, urging him to look at her. He met her eye, but he kept his hand where it was between his legs. Not that she could blame him; she could feel him, hot and incredibly hard against her leg. It was a wonder that he'd held out this long.

 _He_ _ **was**_ _pretty focused on you._

"Just let me," she pleaded, motioning for him to come lie on the pillow beside her. Full-on sex was still too daunting a task for him, but he was coming around to the idea of simpler acts of intimacy.

He shook his head and bowed to kiss at her skin again. "No, I–I'm too worked up, I might—"

"We have to start _somewhere_ ," she insisted.

This was a conversation they'd been having over a period of several days, and by now he looked to be seriously considering it—the sex they were currently having, while excellent for her, mostly involved him fucking her into oblivion with his hands and mouth, and then slipping away to take care of himself. They only had a week or so left of leave time, and she was _not_ going to ship off on her next assignment for two long, lonely months without making full use of their time together.

"Come _up_ here," she ordered, and he finally obeyed with a strained laugh. He rose up on his hands and shifted to settle down next to her properly, pressing his forehead to hers and pulling her flush against him, his hand warm on her hip. "Jesus, Ed," she whispered, and snuck a hand down between them towards his cock, which was pressed against her thigh.

He groaned and let out a sharp breath at the contact, his whole body going tense. "Veronica—"

"I want to," she whispered. "Just— _relax_ , Buck, please _._ You know I'll say if you're squishing or hurting me, right?" She touched his cheek. "It'll be okay."

"I just—" He swallowed, his throat contracting. She felt his other hand come up to squeeze her breast—gently, always gently, more than he'd ever been before—but he didn't push her away, which was a good sign. "God you're so beautiful, Veronica… I wish they'd told me in all the waiver forms I signed that I can't have sex anymore. I might have reconsidered the offer." His breath tickled her skin, and his lips skimmed her jawline.

"You can, Gunny; _we_ can _,"_ she corrected him, and began moving her hand up and down the length of him to emphasise her point. His argument dissolved into another groan, and his grip on her hip tightened. "You just have to get comfortable in your new bones. It's only been a few weeks." Hell, his surgical scars were still faintly pink—he was just being overly impatient.

 _Not that I don't empathise._

"H-how do you know?" he challenged breathlessly, his hips rocking with the movement of her hand.

"I'm ONI, remember?" she whispered with a grin. "I know _everything."_

He was already too focused on the sensation of her fingers to reply to her half-joke with anything coherent. Instead, he pressed his face into the crook of her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist, angling them so her arm wasn't obstructed by their bodies.

"Oh god, Veronica," he rasped into her throat. "God, that feels so _g-good_. So much better when it's you… _always_ so much better…."

He soon stopped talking after that, reduced to sharp intakes of breath and low groans. His hands skimmed all over her body, not really staying in place, unsure of where to settle. She could tell he was already getting close; his grip on her hips, her breasts, her thighs were quickly becoming rougher and less controlled, and his breathing was more shallow. He was holding back even still, but she was intent on coaxing him out of it with the steady slip of her fingers.

The movement of his hips turned erratic and his arm was wound tight around her. She felt more than heard him breathe her name, knew he was getting dangerously close, and with a grin she decided to slow her strokes to a light crawl instead of pushing him over the edge.

Buck's head immediately pulled up from her neck, and he blinked away the dazed look in his eyes long enough to frown at her. "What—why'd you—" he loosened his grip on her instantly and swallowed. "Oh, no—did I hurt you—"

"No, no," she assured him, smiling and pressing a kiss to his lips. "Just _enjoying_ the moment." Her fingers then withdrew and circled the skin of his thighs, dancing around his cock.

"Veronica—" He pushed her down into the bed and kissed her hard, and she arched up into him. "What the _hell,"_ he said against her mouth, and pressed his hips up against her legs with a whine.

"Oh like you _haven't_ been teasing the hell out of me all week," she shot back. She skimmed a finger up the length of his cock and felt his answering full-body shudder. "I'm just playing fair."

"Teasing _you?"_ he growled, huffing out a breath that wasn't quite a laugh. "I think you're getting the _good_ end of this deal."

"Only because you won't let me have a turn with you," she protested, taking another teasing stroke at him. "The things I'd do to you if you'd just _relax_ , Gunny…"

Her words had the intended effect. "Oh god, don't—" he pressed his body into her and groaned. "Please, Veronica," he rasped into her hair, no longer interested in talking. "Please, I need you to…."

Heat pooled low in her belly at his words and the ragged edge in his voice. He was shaking above her, swaying on his arms and rubbing his cock into her leg, unable to help himself.

"Come on then, lie back down," she murmured into his ear, and he fell back down beside her, the mattress rocking with his weight. She kissed him again, long and slow, and then reached down to grab him, resuming her movements in earnest.

She felt the vibration in his ribs from the deep moan that came out of him, and his arm took up residence around her waist again. His forehead was pressed to hers, his breathing coming out sharp and punctuated through his lips. It was broken up by the occasional _oh god please don't stop, please_ , and a whisper of her name, and she was happy to oblige.

When he came, his whole body rocked forward with a bone-deep shudder, and his mouth parted in a silent groan. He gasped into her neck as he came, and she felt his release warm on her skin. He shook until his muscles went lax and he sagged into her, spent and exhausted.

Satisfied with the progress they'd made, she was happy to lie there with him in the afterglow. They'd clean up in a minute—right now, she was savouring the easy, deep breathing from Buck as he settled down and her own residual rubbery-limbed bliss. Him growing half a foot taller and gaining over thirty kilos from bone and muscle implants had changed the dynamics of cuddling and sex substantially, and she was going to soak up every moment like this that she could.

"So," she said lazily, tracing circles on his back with a finger. "That went well, I think."

He let out a laugh. "Yeah," he breathed, and grinned up at her. "Yeah, I think so too." His own much larger hand settled snugly on her ass, and his head was heavy on her shoulder.

"Maybe we can try again later tonight."

He grinned up at her. "I like the sound of that," he responded, and let out an easy sigh.

"First, though—shower time." She was more than pleased that he was finally starting to relax, but she wasn't keen on napping with the current mess on her legs and stomach.

His face heated, and he gave her a sheepish grin. "Right."

"I think I'll forgive you." She patted his shoulder, a cue for him to sit up. Yes, this was an excellent plan. They'd shower, put on pajamas, and have a well-earned nap. Then they'd order room service, or maybe go out for dinner, get drunk, and….

Her planning was cut off by a sudden feeling of weightlessness, and then she realised that Buck had picked her up. _God, he moved fast_. His broad chest, coloured with ODST and other service tattoos, came into sharp focus, and she looked up at him with a grin. "Ferrying me to the shower?" she asked. "How chivalrous."

He shrugged, a soft smile on his lips. "Mostly just an excuse to keep touching you."

Veronica quietly basked in the warmth his words brought on, curling into his chest and letting her Spartan boyfriend carry her to the bathtub. "This is a definite bonus," she commented, looking down at the floor about six feet below her.

"I could carry you before," he protested with a slight frown.

"There was considerably more maneuvering involved," she reminded him, then added: "It's kinda hot that you can just scoop me up now."

He paused in his long strides to the shower to grin down at her. "Oh really?"

She patted his chest. "Yes, definitely. Come on; we can talk about it more in the shower."

"Excellent plan."


End file.
